My old Clarke mig welder is driving me mad. It's shite. Chews up the wire. Feeds wire in fits and starts. Should I change the feed lines, tips and so on, or will I be just chucking good money after bad?


Assuming that If I should cut my losses and get a new welder, can anyone recommend me a really good single-phase mig? Price is an issue, so it'll have to be under £500. I've been looking at a Murex. Are they any good?

Can anyone help?

Throw the Clarke welder away because its not a welder it's a toy. eBay item number 190762466847 is quite a nice one. Different people like different brands or have differing experiences, but a general rule of thumb is that welding machines come with a 'how good they are' rating which is otherwise known as the price tag.

Thanks. That "how good they are" rating system has been the bane of my life. Mind you, it's because of it that I've spent my life driving 2CVs, so there's been an upside.

Smiffy,
a bit over your stated budget, but the 15amp minimum setting should make welding 2CV thickness (or 'thinness'? ) sheet metal easy.

http://www.weldequip.com/portamig-mig-welders.htm

When I bought a 211 just over 5 years ago, the lowest setting available was 20 amps.
It's worked perfectly for both bodywork and chassis building, although for the latter it's usually running closer to 200 amps.

ken

my ole Claeke MIG 90 still going strong, many hundreds of hours on a v rusty fiat 500 and sundry other tasks.....

get the tension right, make sure your wire is clean not rusty .......worn/snagged liner will give you erratic feed. I had "birdsnest" issues down to too tight tension on the adjuster...needs to be just right !

What mig have you got ?
edit ..."clarke" woops [i] normally have a good rep for reliability just a service then

sounds like it needs a service new wire wound torch liner clean up the drive and tension wheels ( cebora used an un shielded mini bearing race that filled up with dust an rust) make sure all the lucar terminals are bright and tight etc etc SIP has a whole world of issues but easily overcome Cebora have a contact switch in the handle that burns like points. birds nesting is tension and a tight spot in the torch liner.

As I'm only a hobbywelder, I don't have the answer for you just advice.......
When youve once had decent welds with it then buy new feeds and tips and a nozzle???
It reely make a (big) diffrence......

when it chews wire loosen the tension of the feeding wheel(s) a little, I often hold the tip to the floor put the trigger and adjust the tension so that it starts to loose grip instead of chewing... works for me..... (hope you understand my crap english once again)




When buying a new, take one with at least 4 wheels for wire feed (at least thats what I want for my next one) then your feed is more constant and tension is lower..... so less hungry

As said before me : It needs to be serviced !
You can always buy a new "lasapparaat " , but I think it needs a proper service .

Smiffy,
if you decide to give the old welder a good fettling, buying the parts from M.M's service centre in Nottingham is usually cheaper than going to your local branch.
Or at least it used to be...
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/pages/customer-service

Edit; might be worth checking on Ebay, of course.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=c ... &_from=R40

Don't forget a replacement feed roller, as well as the more obvious consumables such as the liner, tips and shrouds.

ken